In vitro characterisation of plasma-sprayed apatite/wollastonite glass-ceramic biocoatings on titanium alloys

Some ceramics have the ability to form direct bonds with surrounding tissues when implanted in the body. Among bioactive ceramics, the apatite/wollastonite (A/W) glass-ceramic, containing apatite and wollastonite crystals in the glassy matrix, has been largely studied because of good bioactivity and used in some fields of medicine, especially in orthopaedics and dentistry. However, medical applications of bioceramics are limited to non-load bearing applications because of their poor mechanical properties. In this study, A/W powders, obtained from industrial and high grade quality raw materials, were thermally sprayed by APS (atmospheric plasma spraying) on Ti-6Al-4V substrates, in order to combine the good bioactivity of the bioceramic and the good mechanical strength of the titanium alloy base material. The microstructure and the resulting properties were evaluated depending on processing parameters and post-processing thermal treatments. The morphology and the microstructure of the coatings were observed by SEM and the phase composition was examined by X-ray diffraction. The bioactivity of the coatings was evaluated by soaking the samples in a simulated body fluid (SBF) for 1, 2 and 5 weeks. The bioactive behaviour was then correlated with the thermal treatments and the presence of impurities (in particular Al₂O₃) in the coatings.